Wortspiel und Heterogenität

My dad raised me to appreciate terrible puns. Since German is my fourth language, the opportunities for wordplay (Wortspiel!) are endless. But it takes a particular audience to follow puns that depend on multiple language. Let alone find them funny. But to me there is a certain value to it when you think about world view. As the article puts it, "such examples of verbal creativity demonstrate that borrowing from a foreign language is a communicatively enriching process".

As the "We kehr for you" ad demonstrates, it is possible to capitalize on cross-cultural Wortspiel. While Americans are often faulted for turning some truly absurd notions into money, our incredibly connected world makes it difficult to avoid thinking about foreign cultures, and whatever crossover occurs helps to strengthen respect for those from different backgrounds. Some are concerned about cultures blending uniformly, but when has that ever occurred? America is starting to look like a linguistic experiment. "The influence of German and other languages on English is not a source of concern among most 'language mavens.' In Germany, on the other hand, there are many who lament the increasing use of English-derived words in technology, business, advertising, and everyday speech". The modern American stereotype has very little tradition compared to Europe. It is callous to ignore the near-annihilation of Native American culture, but interesting to note that their many separate tribes and ways of life in comparison to modern American culture, which is based on differences and free thought. "American culture" has connotations similar what to "German culture" had (before it was commercialized in the US, natürlich). The article discusses heterogeneity in Germany before its unification.

Obviously cultural exchange fascinates me. We had exchange students when I was little and I've never recovered. :)